Not alone
by JuneSummer
Summary: When you truly love someone you put them first, even if it means you'll get hurt. Set after "Lockdown". Hameron story with hints of Huddy.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! I guess I couldn't stay away for long… we all need some hameron stories when we're getting nothing of the show, I'm I right? Anyway on with the story.**

**I don't own House md**

Sometimes what you want isn't what you need.

Prologue

_There's a knock on the door and House grunts at the interruption. He's been playing the piano for hours now trying to organize his thoughts._

"_Hi." Cameron greets him and walks past him inside._

"_I thought you had work to do." He notes how she's not comfortable like the other times she's been at his place, she standing in the middle of the room looking like she's about to go to the guillotine._

"_I heard about Cuddy." That explains her current state._

"_Everybody has by now."_

"_I love you." She says and it's the first time she says it to him. He's a little taken aback by it. She pauses for a moment before continuing, what she's about to say isn't easy._

"_I love you, you made me whole again, you helped me when I didn't even know how to help myself. You once said I wanted to fix you, turns out you're the one who fixed me. How ironic is that?" She's fighting back tears now but she needs to tell him all this before she loses her courage._

"_You make me happy and there is nothing more I want than for you to be as happy as I am when I'm with you…, even if it's not with me. When you left Mayfield you were a different man, I mean the core of what you are is still the same but there were these differences that showed you were actually trying. That you believed you deserved to feel some happiness that you don't have to be alone." Her voice starts to fail but she continues._

"_You wanted to be with Cuddy, but she was with Lucas. And now she's not and you have your chance. I love you and I want to be with you, but because I love you I need to let you go." By now silent tears run down her face._

"_If she's the one you want to be with I'm not gonna stand in your way. I'm not gonna force you to choose. You should go to her and tell her how you feel, you shouldn't waist time. You deserve to be happy."_

_House is stuck to the floor in shock, he sees Cameron stepping closer to him and she kisses him softly on the cheek much like she did when she left Princeton a year ago_, _and once again he's too stunned for a reaction._

"_Bye House." She has said that too many times._

_Cameron closes the door behind her and House is left there alone. For what it feels like forever he doesn't move, too much in shock to process what just happen, she said all she needed to say and he couldn't even get a single word out. Yet somehow he's relived. He can go after what he wants without feeling guilty._

**I know right now this could be a bit confusing, the prologue is in italics for a reason, its set one year after "Lockdown" and from the next chapter on we'll see how House and Cameron got to this particular point, so next chapter starts right after that episode.**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated, particularly when it comes to my English, as it's not my first language. So if you see any major mistakes, misspells, etc… please point them out so I won't make them again. Hopefully this story will show some improvement from my last one… hopefully.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Remember, from now on this story starts after the episode "Lockdown".**

Chapter 1

One year before

From this point on he hates the word lockdown.

After staying with his patient and open up to him House doesn't feel like going home, this imposed lockdown forced him to be with the patient in his last moments and he forced him to confront his own feelings. Since he left Mayfield he hasn't told anyone about Lydia or what she represented in his life, he guesses the patient was right, sometimes it's easier to open up to a stranger than to someone you know.

By now it's late, and he doesn't want to go home, he decides to go to this bar not too far of the hospital but not too close either so he won't meet any of his fellow coworkers, a scotch would be nice right about now, he's not planning on getting drunk but a drink would take the edge off.

He steps into the bar and it's unusually quiet, like he thought there are no doctors in sight, right now he just wants to be alone. That is until he spots the back of a blond woman sitting in a booth alone and as he limps closer she looks more and more familiar.

She's staring at her untouched drink lost in her own world and doesn't even notices him sliding down in front of her and sitting, or so he thinks.

"What do you think about second chances?" She quietly asks without tearing her eyes away from her drink.

"Depends, they can be good but you have to take them seriously otherwise you're wasting yours and the other person's time." She seems to take in consideration his words for a while.

"You're right, it wouldn't be fair to the other person."

"I heard through the nurses you were back."

"I'm not back."

"No, you're not." This time she does look up and she's a little surprised by his expression, he looks more tired than ever and his eyes don't shine like they usually do.

"I guess the lockdown wasn't good for you either, you look tired."

"You don't look too good yourself."

"Chase and I…, we signed the divorce papers. A failed marriage does that to a person." She sighs.

Now would be the time House would mock her to try to get a reaction out of her, but this has been an emotionally draining day for both so he keeps the conversation going.

"I didn't think he would sign them that easily."

"He didn't, he wanted to talk first about why we didn't worked together." Her eyes drop to her glass again.

"Killing a dictator and hiding it wasn't enough of a reason?"

"Don't you want to drink? You shouldn't be in a bar and not drink something." She tells him.

"You're not drinking." He points to her untouched glass but orders a scotch for himself anyway.

"It wasn't his entire fault. I'm not some victim here I played a part in it too."

"Is that what you talked about?" He asks as he takes a sip of his scotch.

"I told him the truth, right now I'm a mess."

"So you let him off the hook."

"I could've told him what he wanted to hear and then he would ask me to stay and I would, and we'd have our second chance… and it would be unfair to him. So I told him the truth, he shouldn't be miserable because he made a mistake, I've made mistakes too, he should try and be happy, move on with his life." She pauses and finally takes her glass and drinks it down.

"You were right, I am damaged. I just don't know why. I don't come from a dysfunctional family, I didn't have a screwed up childhood and I did loved my husband and even though I miss him and still think about him I'm not traumatized by his death. So how screwed up am I?"

Her words catch him of guard this stupid lockdown was as bad as enlightening at the same time for her as it was for him.

"Less than the others who walk around and don't know how screwed up they really are, at least you're aware of it which is more than other people can say." She gives him a small smile.

"What about you?"

"Everyone knows just how screwed up I am, that's not a secret."

"I mean what happen to you, and don't say nothing happen otherwise you'd be mocking me or making me cry or something."

"I got stuck with a patient about to die. We had an interesting conversation." Now it's his time to avert eye contact.

"What happen?"

"I stayed with him and he died." Like it's that simple…

"Must have been a really good conversation."

"Good is probably not the right word but yeah." He's glad she doesn't probe for more.

"I should go."

"Back to Chicago right?"

"Actually no. I'm staying in New Jersey, not too far from Princeton, I got a job here." She has no idea why she's telling him this but somehow lying to him tonight isn't an option.

"Everyone thinks you moved to Chicago." He says a bit puzzled.

"I did for a while to clear my head." She stands up and throws some bills on the table to cover both their drinks. She doesn't need to ask him not to tell the others she's not in Chicago, she knows he won't.

"You'll be fine Cameron, it might take a while and it won't be fun, but you will."

"I hope so. I hope everything works out for you too. Bye House."

He watches as she leaves the bar and recalls his previous conversation with the patient, about how Lydia touched him and things would be different if all this happen sooner, Cuddy wouldn't be with Lucas and he would have his second chance with her.

And then all thoughts go back to the blond woman he just shared drinks with, Cameron is back in New Jersey. Now that's interesting! He smirks on his way out.

**So … I had many, many, many issues with the episode "Lockdown" and I guess this is me trying to deal with them.**

**R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

To say the day starts in a bad way is an understatement…

House wakes up to the sounds of someone moaning in the bedroom next to his and huffs in frustration. Wilson and Sam are at it again. Reluctantly he pushes the covers down and gets ready as fast as his leg allows him to and he's out of the door in no time. Once he gets to the hospital he closes the blinds and sits on his good yellow chair for the much needed sleep he'd be having if Wilson hadn't woken him so early in the morning.

Two hours later he wakes up, this time to the sound of someone opening the blinds that were shielding him in.

"Morning." Wilson says as he sits behind the desk.

"I'm sure it was for you." He tries to sound bitter but fails.

"I hope we weren't too loud." Wilson says embarrassed.

"Of course not, why else would I be here at some ungodly hour."

"Sorry, I'm just happy, I haven't felt this way in a long time." And House knows how true that is, and how he played a part in it.

"If I was in your place I'd probably be doing the same, I might even take pictures to haunt you."

"The scary thing is I believe you. So, lunch later?" He asks as he leaves for his own office.

"Sure."

At the end of the day House picks up his backpack and heads home, he parks his car and already has his home keys in his hand when he spots a familiar car, Sam's car.  
As much as he's happy for Wilson he's a little sick of their pda, in the beginning it was fun to engage in some banter with them but now it's not so fun anymore, and not even the fact that Sam is Wilson's first wife helps him. House doesn't exactly need to see what he doesn't have on a daily basis. He turns around and limps back to his car, he opens the glove compartment and pulls out a piece of paper he stashed in there weeks ago, and looks at the address written in it for a few seconds and then throws it back to its previous place. He starts the car and heads away.

Cameron is sitting on her new couch going through some paper work waiting for her food to arrive, she's not that much of a cook and besides making dinner for one isn't worth the trouble. There's a knock on her door and she picks up her wallet ready to pay the deliver guy, except when she opens the door it's not the delivery guy she sees.

"House?" She asks in confusion and bewilderment. He's standing there, leaning on his cane and after a while when she doesn't move or say anything else looking totally caught off guard he sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in? And it's not polite to stare." Coming to reality Cameron steps aside allowing him entrance into her home.

He takes in her place, there are still some boxes to unpack and the lack of furniture tells him she's not quite settle in yet, luckily there's a big TV in the living room.

"What are you doing here? Did something happen? Is everyone ok?"

"No it's not. Wilson is getting laid while I'm not getting any, all is wrong with world." To say she's perplexed by his answer is an understatement.

"What? And so you decide to come here? Cause I can't help you with that, I'm not gonna sleep with you."

"It would be the best experience of your life, but relax I'm just here for the TV, she's my one true love." And he plops himself on her couch.

"House!" Is he kidding with her?

"Wilson has been doing the nasty with his first wife for weeks now, it's like they're reliving their honeymoon, and I can't take it anymore, pretty soon I'm gonna have nightmares if I hear them doing it again."

"Have you tried to talk to him?"

"I can't. He's happy, and after Amber and dealing with me he deserves it." She completely understands him, and House is a better friend than most people give him credit for.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here, why not go to Cuddy or one of your team members?"

"I'm sick of my team and Cuddy…, well let's just not go there." Cameron remembers how House tried to show his feelings for her only to find out she was with Lucas. It's never easy to put yourself out there only to be shut down, she knows from experience. Rejection is a bitch.

"The other night we talked and you didn't make it into a thing, you didn't over analyzed it like you would've before, so I decided to come here." He takes the remote and starts surfing through the channels. That's the thing between them, somehow they just connect.

"How did you get my address? No wait, I don't want to know."

Then there's a knock on the door that startles Cameron, she completely forgot about the food she ordered. House watches as she goes to the door and he's relieved to see it's just the delivery guy, the thought that she might not be alone never crossed his mind.

"I knew I was right when I drove here!" He says while he peaks inside and smells the take out.

She takes pity (or so she tells herself) on him and shares her dinner, her couch and her TV for the night, as she resumes her paperwork. After a while he glances at the clock grabs his cane and is ready to leave.

"Thanks for dinner." And he's gone just like that. Cameron can't help but stare at the door for a few seconds after he leaves.

At least he said thanks…

**R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

A few other weeks pass until House shows up again, Cameron opens the door to House holding a bag of food and she's puzzled, she assumed the other night was a onetime thing, just a weird occurrence, but here he is passing through her like she invited him or something.

"What are you doing here?"

"Wilson is having a romantic dinner, light candles, home cooked meal, expensive wine, the whole shebang!" He goes to her kitchen and searches her drawers for some utensils. She wants to tell him to leave, he's not her problem anymore, Cuddy is the one that should be dealing with his issues, not her, she's supposed to be done. But Cameron doesn't say a thing, for reasons she rather not think she lets him stay.

As the night advances she gets more and more frustrated with House, she types furiously at the computer, she's not really paying much attention to what she's doing, the computer is merely an attempt at distracting herself from the man currently occupying her couch watching a stupid game on her TV. She's so stupid for letting him insert himself into her life again.

"You're not going to eat?" He asks not tearing his eyes from the game but noticing her every move.

"Not hungry." She mumbles and her voice shows how irritated she is.

House knows he's not exactly welcome, and in his defense he did stay way…. for a while anyway. But he felt less miserable last time he was here, and their talk when the lockdown happen although unexpected was a breath of fresh air. In fact all of their so called talks happened by accident and somehow they always end up lowering their defense walls just for a moment allowing for the other to see glimpses of what's really going on inside them. Maybe that's why he's here, these walls he keeps up for protection are hard and tiring and sometimes he just needs a break. And Cameron allows him just that.

"Oh for the love of God, just get here and eat something, you're making me crazy." Cameron glares at him but relents, she sits on the couch next to him with a huff, keeping her distance and picks up one of the cartons of food.

House changes the channel to a movie, and a few minutes later he feels Cameron relaxing next to him.  
Cameron hadn't realized how hungry she was until she started eating.

"So… Wilson is dating his ex-wife huh?" House grins at her question. No more awkwardness.

After a couple of months House establishes a pattern, he shows up at her place unannounced about two or three times a week, most of the times they eat takeout and watch TV, or he watches TV while she reads one of her books, occasionally they go out to the diner at the corner of the street, most of the nights they keep conversations to a minimum others they actually talk, not about danger topics but they talk, they feel comfortable with each other. Cameron considers herself as some sort of friend, not in the same way as Wilson, no one will ever be at the level of Wilson, but a friend nonetheless.

She's grown accustomed to have him around and it's a sort of comfort to know she's not coming home to an empty apartment after a day of work even for just a few times a week. And she feels it's probably the same for him otherwise he wouldn't keep coming back. It's strange how all the times she has left one way or the other House always seeks her out, it's not something she expects nor does she think he plans it (she's not that naïve), it's just something that happens... something unique in their atypical relationship or whatever it is they have.

Besides, being alone at night can be quite depressing sometimes.

**I'm officially on vacation! Yeah! But I'll miss all the two year old children from my class in daycare, they all cried when we said goodbye :(**

**In a few days I'll be leaving town but I'm taking my laptop with me, so there shouldn't be any delay on updates.**

**R&R**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

After a grueling day at work Cameron finally gets home, she puts the key in the lock and opens the door to find House already sitting on her couch, feet on her coffee table and shoes on the other side on the floor eating a slice of pizza.

"What the hell House! You scared me!"

"You're late." He says nonchalantly.

"So you decided to break in?" With fruatrated huff she sheds her coat and dumps her bag on the floor.

"I wasn't waiting outside, in case you haven't noticed I'm cripple!" He waves his cane to reinforce his point.

She sits next to him and takes off her shoes as well, by now she's used to have him around and they can relax with one another. It feels... nice, for lack of a better word. She loses her hair from its ponytail and grabs a slice of pizza for herself.

"You could show a little respect for other people's propriety." She says between bites.

"I taught you to break into patients houses, you're not any different from them." He never averts his gaze from the TV.

"And here I thought I was special."

Cameron stands up and goes to the kitchen, she returns with two glasses of red wine and resumes her place next to him.

"Why do we always eat takeout?" He suddenly asks surprising her.

"Because I don't cook."

"Why?"

"I suck at it. If you want a home cooked meal you're gonna have to cook it yourself." He frowns, he always pictured Cameron as the perfect housewife, it just shows how his assumptions about her aren't always correct. It's actually a bit annoying, that or refreshing, he's not sure which.

After a while Cameron feels her eyes getting heavy, she places the wine glass on the coffee table and gets up.

"I'm tired, I'm going to sleep. Lock up when you leave." She finishes with a yawn.

"Sure." After months it's not an unusual occurrence. They don't dwell on how domestic the whole situation is. She changes to a tank top and matching bottom pants and crawls in bed. She doesn't know what this thing with House is but she welcomes it. For the first time in a while she's content. Who would have thought House would be the one to bring out such a feeling. Not her, that's for sure.

Next morning Cameron wakes up for work, she goes to the bathroom but before her morning shower she needs her caffeine dose. As she passes through the living room she sees the TV is on mute and House is sprawled on the couch sound asleep. She stares at him for a moment noticing his peaceful expression before deciding to wake him up, somehow it gives her a new perspective on this complicated man, she feels herself being pulled once again into the black hole he is. She stops her train of thoughts that would without a doubt lead her to something she's not sure she can deal, plus he can't possibly be comfortable and his leg is going to bother him all day.

She steps in front of him and bends slightly.

"House." She whispers. No reaction.

"House, wake up."

Sleepily he opens his eyes and gives a small smile, at which she frowns. A smiley House in the morning is not right. He's most definitely not a morning person. Something would have to be wrong with the world.

"This should be my wake up view every morning." She follows his line of gaze and realizes that by bending she's giving him a clear view of her cleavage.

"Ass."

As he sits up he grimaces in pain, his right hand goes to his damage thigh to massage it.

"Come on, I'm making coffee." She offers not dwelling her gaze on his leg. His pain is something private that he has no wish to share.

"You make crappy coffee."

"No, I don't." She throws back as she disappears into the kitchen giving him his space to take the ibuprofen in place of his precious vicodin.

As House limps into his office by late morning he's greeted by a worried Wilson pacing around inside about to dig a hole on the floor.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Good morning to you too." House sheds his jacket and sits behind his desk ignoring his friend's worried expression.

"I've been worried sick all morning! I wake up to start on breakfast and usually that lures you right away to the kitchen, so when you don't show up I go to your room and you're not there!"

"I didn't realize I had a curfew mom."

"What's going on with you, you're spending less and less time at home and now you're sleeping out too. Is this because of Sam?"

"Wilson, I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself." House says getting annoyed with all this, plus his leg is hurting more than usual. Damn couch.

"Is your leg hurting?" It doesn't go unnoticed by Wilson.

"Don't you have some bald kids to save?" Wilson shakes his head and leaves, but not to his office, he's too worried for work and needs to share the burden this friendship with House sometimes causes. Not that he thinks it's not worth it, because it is. No question about that, maybe that's why he cares and worries so much.

"Hey Cuddy, do you have a moment?" Cuddy looks up from her paperwork.

"Sure. What is it?" Wilson steps into the Dean's office.

"House, when is it not House." He says defeated.

"What did he do now?"

Wilson isn't happy about being here talking to Cuddy, somehow it feels like he's betraying House's confidence by opening up to her. House has feelings for her and he's been rejected by her more than once, Wilson himself wanted to hurt her and punish her for hurting House when he was trying to make an effort. But here he is nonetheless, seeking her out.

"Something is going on with him, he's not spending anytime at home, acting weird and won't tell me where he goes. He didn't come home last night."

"Aren't you overreacting, maybe he has a lady friend." Cuddy says the words but hopes they're not true even if she's in a relationship with another man.

"If it was a woman he would be gloating, and he's in pain, more so than usual. I thought we were passed the point where I needed to drill him for information but I don't know. I'm just worried."

"You think he's going to go back to the vicodin?"

"For his sake I hope not."

"Wilson, I'm not sure I'm the right person you should be talking about House, I can't always be on beck and call when House has a problem. I'm sorry I can't help you." She sighs, if she wants a shot at having a so called normal family life she needs to stay away from all things House related. She can't give in temptation and fall back into the vortex that is House, one slip and she's gone. She can't risk it.

"I thought above everything you were his friend, I guess I was wrong." Wilson says as he stands up and leaves the office closing the door not too gently. He should know better than to seek out Cuddy after all that's happened.

Cuddy is left with thoughts of House and guilt for the rest of the day.

And maybe she deserves it. The guilt.

**I wasn't really inspired for this, I guess I lost hope of JMo coming back to House. It seems the writers are no longer interested in writing for her character. Haven't decided yet if I'll be watching the next season, I'm so sick of Huddy… and worst Huli… Yuck! **

**R&R**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the support and feedback! And relax, I have no intention on abandoning this story, never did, I hate unfinished stories. However since I'm kind of uninspired lately I'm afraid for its quality. I guess you'll be the judges of that.**

Chapter 5

Once Cameron gets home the first thing she does is run to the bathroom for a hot shower, nothing feels better than the warm water cascading down her body in a soothing manner relaxing all her achy muscles.

Cameron steps out of the shower and dries herself with a fully white towel, she rolls it around her body and brushes her wet hair, the mirror fogs in no time with the steam of the hot water. She opens the door and bumps into House.

"Ahhh!"

"About time you leave the bathroom, I need to take a leak."

"For God sake House! You want to scare me to death? Can't you knock like normal people?" As if he's normal!

"I did knock, then I got tired of waiting. Think of it this way, I could've gone in there while you were still taking your shower." He leers at her from the tip of her toes and up her body back to her eyes not bothering to disguise it. The only thing covering her is a towel and her cheeks are flushed and he's not the type of man to ignore that.

Cameron huffs in frustration and heads to her bedroom with House watching her retreating back in an appreciative manner. He always enjoyed her backside.  
Once she's dressed in her pajamas bottoms and a tank top she goes to the living room expecting to find him on the couch watching TV but she finds it empty. Frowning she follows the sounds coming from the kitchen and she's shocked to see him cooking, and not some fast meal like sandwiches, he's actually cooking.

"You're cooking?" She's bemused.

"No, I'm just organizing your cabinets." He doesn't even look at her.

"Where did all this stuff come from?" She points to the ingredients scattered on the counter.

"There's this neat thing called supermarket, you can find all sort of things there, you should try it."

"But you don't cook." She says more to herself.

"The fact that I'm here cooking in your kitchen clearly says otherwise. Or maybe you're hallucinating, no wait that's my thing. Forget it." He says like he's talking to an eight year old.

"Are you gonna stop mocking me?" She snaps crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Depends, are you gonna stop saying idiotic things? Honestly Cameron, I thought you were smarter than that."

She glares at him again but sits on the stool enjoying watching him moving around in her kitchen so at ease, he's not even using his cane anymore, already familiar with her place. It feels good.

"So what are you making?" She asks trying to prevent the smile that keeps forcing its way to her lips. She fails miserably, and he notices it.

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not." She shrugs. It's just amazing to have him in her kitchen cooking for her. She's pretty sure he doesn't cook for Wilson.

"Oh. My. God." Cameron moans out loud.

"Not God, Greg. I'm much better than him! You should know that by now."

"This is really good!"

"Everything I do is good! I'm offended that you're so surprised." He says proudly, satisfied that she's enjoying so much the food he prepared.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the man, whatever." She continues to eat savoring every single bite with great pleasure.

"You were the one moaning like you are having sex, not me."

"How do you know that's how I sound when I'm having sex?"

"Chase likes to talk." By now she's used to his comments about Chase so she doesn't give him much importance.

"Jerk."

After dinner they settle on the couch, House is watching TV while she's reading a book, the distance between the two over the past months has been decreasing gradually, they now sit next to each other without any awkwardness. It kind of demonstrates the improvement of this so called friendship.

"I'm going to bed. Try not to fall asleep this time." She says trying to stifle a yawn.

She goes to her bedroom and crawls in bed, after a while she's half asleep when she feels the bed dip beside her.

"House?" She opens her sleepy eyes and turns to him, confusion all over her features.

"I'm not sleeping on the couch."

"So you decide to sleep in my bed?"

"Sounds good to me."

"House." Her voice sounds tired.

"It's late Cameron, and your couch is crap, it makes my leg hurt."

"Fine." She doesn't put up much of a fight, she turns again to her side, her back to him and she's already on her way to sleep again when this time she feels his arm circling her waist and his palm resting on her stomach. That makes her eyes shot open and her body tense. She can no longer ignore him lying just beside her in bed in such an intimate position.

"What are you doing?" She asks but doesn't make a move to stop him and he pulls her closer to him, her back against his chest.

"Unclench. Don't think, just sleep." It's been a while since a man hold her like this, she lets the tension leave her body and just enjoys the warmth his body provides.

She guesses he needs to feel a human connection just as much as she does, after all he's been alone since Stacy, and hookers don't count. And when he finally decided to try a relationship with Cuddy he was shot down. If she finds comfort in his warm arms and she's only been alone for some months, she can only imagine what it must feel like for him since he's been alone for years.

They sleep better than they have in weeks.

**Can't wait for the morning…**

**R&R**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

As the morning comes Cameron feels the sunlight hit her eyes, gradually she opens them and sees her bed companion. It's been a while since she shared a bed with another man. Over the night they changed their positions, Cameron is now on her side facing House and he's on his stomach his face turned to her. She watches closely the lines on his face most of them probably caused by years of drug abuse, but still he's aging well. It's amazing how such a rude man can be so captivating at the same time.

Slowly she pulls the covers down his back to his waist careful not to disturb him, the black t-shirt molds his body perfectly and shows off his strong biceps and back muscles, at the sudden cold he slightly shivers. House opens his eyes and is momentarily confused, Cameron is looking straight at him with an expression he hasn't seen on her face in years, in fact if he recalls it right the last time she wore this particular expression was when he faked cancer and she kissed him in his office. Then again he might just be imagining things since he just awoke.

She supports herself in one elbow and he rolls to lie on his back paying attention to her, never breaking their eye lock, they don't speak, their stares always spoke volumes, there's no need for words. Cameron leans down kissing him softly, hesitant at first, their lips brushing against each other, his tongue seeks entrance into her mouth and she gladly welcomes him.

House is now definitely awake, as they keep kissing his hands run up and down her back lifting her tank top slightly grazing her smooth skin underneath. He then moves his hands to her waist and in a swift move he rolls them so he's now on top of her taking control, he pulls their mouths apart to look down into her green-blue eyes, he always liked how her eyes change color depending on how much light there is, he then leans down and starts placing kisses on her neck, Cameron arches her neck to give him better access and moans deeply.

She starts tugging at his t-shirt and he pulls back just enough for her to remove it completely, he crashes his mouth to hers as she runs her hands on the strong biceps she was admiring before and notices his chest is just as strong. She figures because of years of using a cane he built up his upper body.

He trails kisses down her neck to her collarbone his hands roaming on her sides and stomach, he breaks the kiss and hovers above her running his palm smoothly from her face to her neck over her breasts and down pausing at the hem of her top. Cameron gives him a small smile and stretches her arms above her head encouraging him to take it off, and he slowly slides it off of her leaving her hair all messed up. His breath catches in his throat at the sight of her half naked under him, blond curls sprawled on the pillow and one of her trade mark similes on her lips. He always acknowledged she was a beautiful woman but right now seeing her, the reality is so much better than he could possibly had ever imagined.

Cameron senses his eyes on her, she places her palms on each side of his face and pulls him down to her again in the gentlest kiss he ever felt. He's not even inside of her and the intimacy of it is already overwhelming, this is exactly what he needs, to feel this connected with another human being, and not just a physical connection, whatever this is, is so much deeper than that.

She starts to tug down his boxers but he's faster than her and manages to take off her shorts first leaving her in only her panties and she teases him by running her ankle over his leg. She resumes her work on his boxers and this time succeeds, he's so caught up in her he doesn't even think about his scar, he doesn't have to, Cameron would never show any type of repulse, if there's one thing he's sure of is that Cameron accepts him, scar or no scar. She stretches her arm to the drawer of the night table searching for a condom and hands it to him. Slowly he peals her panties down her long slender legs and positions himself on top of her.

He looks down at her as if asking for permission to make sure this is what she wants, she smiles at him and he wastes no time plunging inside her making her moan loudly. As he moves in and out of her she grips his shoulders with all her strength , sweat stars to form on his forehead and he releases a growl. They don't rush just trying to make the most of it for as long as possible, but soon House can feel Cameron getting close to her climax and he's just right behind her.

As Cameron reaches her peak she shuts her eyes and she screams in ecstasy and he gladly joins her marveled that he's the one causing her so much pleasure. He rolls to her side and lies on his back, their chests moving up and down from their shallow breathing. In fact their breathing is the only sound in the room and it's far too loud.

They're both aware it wasn't just sex.

Cameron turns to him and places her upper body on top of his, running her palm up and down his chest and their eyes lock in an intense gaze. The weight of her small body on top of him feels wonderful.

"We have to go to work." Cameron's the first to speak.

"What no pillow talk?" It's the first words he says this morning.

"We're gonna be late." She continues.

"I'm always late." He wraps his arms around her. She smiles because she knows it's true.

"That's you, not me."

"You could learn a few things from me. Let's not work today and stay here." The words leave his mouth before he even notices it.

"As much as that sounds appealing I've got to go to work." Cameron disentangles herself from him and heads to the bathroom for quick shower.

When she steps into the bedroom wrapped up in only a towel and drying her hair with another, House is still laying in bed except now he's paying attention to Cameron's movements as she moves around getting ready for work. He watches as she goes through the drawers picking out her clothes. She should feel uncomfortable with his stare but oddly enough she doesn't. Cameron puts her underwear on and looks at him with a smirk.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" She asks as she starts dressing her work clothes.

"Yeah, I did." It's the truth.

"Aren't you gonna get up?" She's fully clothed now.

"I'm already in trouble, might as well go all the way." She lets a small grin escape at his reasoning.

"I'll leave you a fresh pot coffee. See you later?"

"Definitely." As Cameron leaves she feels less alone than she has in ages. And so does House. How could he not, it's been years since he's been this intimate with another person and he's more than glad that it was with Allison Cameron.

**R&R**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Later that morning House walks through the hospital lobby trying to go unnoticed, he's already late and the last thing he needs is a furious Cuddy reminding him of his clinic duty.

"House!" No such luck.

"House, you're late." He shows no intention of stopping or even slowing down so Cuddy has no alternative than to walk alongside with him.

"I'm late every day, what makes it today any different for you to point it out?" He increases his pace, he has long legs and Cuddy has to speed up as well in order to keep up with him. He really doesn't want Cuddy or anything else to stain the memory of the perfect morning he's having.

"Wilson is worried about you."

"Again, nothing new with that." He's getting annoyed. Why can't she just say what's on her mind and leave him alone.

"Are those the same clothes you had on yesterday?" She asks taking a closer look to his appearance. With all that happened this morning he didn't go home to change like he did last time when he fell asleep at Cameron's, not that he cares much about it anyway.

"Wearing the same clothes screams I got laid, so why don't you just go ahead and ask it."

"I don't care about your sex life unless it affects the hospital." She states trying to sound as convincing as possible, but House is way too smart. They stop as they reach the elevator, House presses the button with the tip of his cane and turns to her, using his eight to his benefit, not that that scares her much, she's used to it.

"You're used to me getting late for work, Wilson's always worried about me, and the fact that you know what I wore yesterday tells me that you pay way more attention to me than what you should. What you really want to know is if I had sex because you're jealous, you just don't want to admit it." He uses a smug tone enjoying making her squirm.

Cuddy opens her mouth to say what she's not sure, but he gives her no time for a reply.

"I didn't have sex last night so you can go and be with Lucas and pretend you're all a happy family in this illusion you created." He's cruelly blunt and he's not sorry for it.

The elevator's door open and he steps in facing her before the door closes.

"I didn't have sex last night," he pauses "I had sex this morning and it was awesome!" The doors slide shut and Cuddy's left there alone staring at the doors, mouth agape. She then realizes of the other people in the lobby starring at her, she puts on her brave expression and heads for her office where she's safe.

As she walks back to her office she curses him and his perceptiveness, he's right, she's not happy with Lucas, but she has to try. She's not sure if she should believe House's words or if he's just messing with her trying to get a reaction out of her. It is after all something he would do. But the idea of him sleeping with another woman bothers her more than she would like to admit. She releases a deep sigh before returning to her work.

Later that day House goes home to take a shower and change clothes, he's in the living room searching for his keys when Wilson emerges from the kitchen.

"You're not staying for dinner?" Wilson asks wearing some ridiculous apron.

"No matter how appealing your cooking is I have a better place to be." House says as he continues his search lifting the pillows of the couch.

"Are you going to tell me what you're up to?" There he goes questioning him.

"Nope."

"Why not? What's the big secret?"

"Stop worrying Wilson, I'm not going to some alley to shoot drugs, there's not gonna be any phone call telling you I overdosed. Now make yourself useful ad help me find my keys."

"Just don't do anything stupid." Wilson tells him taking House's keys from his pocket and handing them to him.

"You had them all this time?" It is after all something he would do.

"Like you said, I worry too much." Wilson shrugs and goes back to the kitchen.

Cameron hears the familiar knock on the door and rushes to open it. There stands House leaning on his cane while with his other hand he juggles a bag of groceries. As she takes it from him she notices an overnight bag previously hidden behind the other bag. She raises an eyebrow unable to control the smile that finds its way to her lips.

"What?" He asks though he knows exactly what she's thinking.

"Nothing." She heads to the kitchen grinning wildly. House follows her releasing a small grin himself.

"You're coking again?" Cameron asks as she takes a peek inside trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"You obviously don't do it, and there's only so much take out a person can tolerate." Plus he has to put to use what he learned from his cooking lessons after he left Mayfield. And the fact that Cameron seems to enjoy it helps too of course.

"I'm not complaining, I like it when you cook."

House prepares their dinner and Cameron just enjoys having him there. Despite the different personalities (almost opposite) they find themselves in the same situation, both damaged and vulnerable, unable to truly commit seriously to a relationship and both alone. So they take advantage of the connection that's always been there and enjoy each other company.

And it feels right.

They've sort of established a routine, they share meals a couple of times a week, and on most weekends, sometimes they order takeout, or go to the diner across the street, but occasionally he decides to cook which she absolutely loves, although she doesn't tell him that, but then again she's sure he knows it. They have a good relaxing time together, no matter how weird sometimes the whole situation appears to be.

But as House once said, weird works for them.

**Sorry for the Cuddy part in this chapter, I know she's not exactly the most popular character right now but it needed to be done.**

**R&R**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

"House, my office in ten minutes." Cuddy demands in that tone only she manages to use as she enters his office interrupting a differential.

"I don't think sex in your office is a good idea but if you're game I'm in!"

"This is serious, be there." She says forcefully and disappears down the hall, he can almost hear her high heels clicking on the floor.

At first he intends to make her wait but curiosity gets the best of him, he hasn't done any crazy procedures or pissed off any patient's relatives, so it can't be related to the hospital which means she wants to talk about something personal.  
He enters her office not bothering to knock and stands in front of her desk where she's expecting him, then he notices Wilson sitting on the couch on the other side of the office. Something is up and by the looks of it he won't like it, he can tell by their expressions they're not at ease too which only adds to his suspicions.

"A threesome, very kinky!" Obviously he needs to deflect.

"House we need to talk." Wilson stands up and steps closer, his voice sounds tired. House feels where this is going and anger starts to rise inside him.

"No, you need to talk." His voice sounds bitter.

"House." Cuddy tries.

"For the last time, I'm not back on vicodin or any other drug!" He yells frustrated. Why can't at least Wilson trust him, sure he has made many mistakes before but he's doing good now and Wilson should be able to notice it.

"House, you've been different lately, we all see it." Wilson insists.

"What is it going to take, you want a urine sample? I can go back to the weekly tests if that's what you want!" He can't believe Wilson of all people is pushing this or that he's supporting Cuddy, which only means they've been talking about him behind his back.

"We're just trying to help." Cuddy says.

"You rarely sleep at home anymore."

"Last time I checked I didn't have a curfew, and you're not my keeper!" House grips his cane tighter making his knuckles turn almost white.

"House I can't put the hospital at risk if you-"

"Oh don't even pretend this is about the hospital, that's just an excuse you're using and you know it."

"Why don't you just tell us what's going on?" Wilson pushes and House is done with all this.

"I'm not back on drugs, I'm sleeping with Cameron!" He shouts. To say they're all shocked by his words is an understatement.

After a moment of silent and shock Cuddy turns to him.

"Cameron is in Chicago." She states convincingly trying to catch House in a lie.

"Cameron's been living in New Jersey for months now, and I didn't say anything because it was private, something between me and her. It's none of your business what I do with my personal time." He turns and leaves limping furiously down the hall making the nurses more scared of him then they usually are.

"Well I didn't expect that." Wilson is still pretty stunned.

"You believe him? That he's with Cameron?"

"Who knows, this is House after all." He shakes his head and leaves too, House is already pissed off, and he has no wish to make it worse, he'd only get a cane shaped bruise on his ass in return.

Cuddy is left with her thoughts, and the fact that there's a possibility of House actually moving on hurts her more than she expects. And the fact that he's doing it with Cameron… well… It just helps to prove she's not over House, she needs to try harder and make it work with Lucas, after all she did saw something in him to start dating him.

Cameron is on her way to her car after another day of work when she spots House leaning against it, the sun hits him in an odd angle making him even more appealing. She frowns, he never showed up at her job before.

"Hi." She treads lightly.

When she's within reach he pulls her to him and crashes his mouth to hers taking her completely off guard by the public gesture. He breaks the kiss abruptly just as he started it.

"Come on." He takes her hand and directs her to his car.

"What about my car?" She manages to say puzzled by his odd behavior, but this is House after all, always unpredictable.

"I'll drive you in the morning." He ends the questions with that.

They're driving through the streets but they're not going to her place, he's overly quiet and she's unsure of how to act. Finally they come to a stop in front of a small restaurant.

"Where are we?"

"Thought we could eat out today, you'll like this place." House walks in and she has no choice but to follow him without knowing what to make of his actions.

The restaurant is half full and they sit in a booth in the corner, a waiter immediately approaches them with the menus and takes their orders. While they wait Cameron's tempted to ask him what's going on, but chooses not to, if she pushes him he'll just shut down, he'll tell her when he's ready. He may still be a mystery but over the years she's picked up a few things.

"Cuddy and Wilson trapped me in an intervention today." He uses a nonchalant tone of voice. Cameron opens her mouth in shock and confusion but they're interrupted by the waiter with their food.

"An intervention? They think you're back to using drugs?" Cameron can't fake her surprise, especially about Wilson.

"You know Wilson, always looking out for me. He wanted to know where I spend my nights." He says not too happy about his friend's actions and he doesn't hide it.

"Wilson cares too much." She murmurs and he stops eating to look intently at her.

"You saying that it's just weird." She ignores his comment.

"I told them I was with you, but I'm not sure they believed me." She's glad she's not a secret but at the same time she doesn't like the idea of other people talking and giving their opinions about them.

"Well you do tend to lie…" She smirks.

"Maybe you should come by the hospital so I can kiss you in front of them, it would be a good show, I could even charge tickets."

"Yeah, not gonna happen."

"Why not? Afraid to be seen with an old cripple?" Is that bit of insecurity she hears in his voice?

"I'm not going back to that hospital, not unless there's no other choice." Now it's his time to be confused.

"Why?"

"That's part of my past and I have no wish of going back there. Like Forman once said they're all just people I used to work with." Cameron does have a way of surprising him when he least expects. Her words sound so unlike her.

"What about me?"

"You…" She lets out a small smile. "You just have this way of pushing yourself into other people's lives and no matter how much we try to resist you always manage to have your way. You're rude and abrasive but somehow people are drawn to you. It's quite annoying actually."

"All part of my charm." He says for lack of anything better.

"How did Cuddy react?" She suddenly asks.

"She thought you were in Chicago."

"That's it?"

"Why so interested in Cuddy, something you want to tell me?" He tries to make light of the situation in the hope she'll drop it, but to be fair he's the one who started it.

"Oh please, we both know you and Cuddy have a twisted relationship." She's not as naïve as others think.

"And how is that?" Now he wants to know what Cameron thinks she knows.

"Well you and I have this connection, it's always been there for years, but with Cuddy it's different… she's been in your life for over twenty years, she was there before Stacy, and during your relationship with her, when you had the infarction and when Stacy left, and when you had your breakdown she was there too. She's been the only constant person in your life even more so than Wilson, and you're not exactly an easy person to be around with, so it's amazing how she managed to stay in your life for so long. Except now she's with Lucas and you're not happy about it, I just haven't figure out if you have feelings for her and I mean deep feelings not just sexual attraction, or if you just like the idea that she's into you, or even if you want her because she's who you're familiar with, you're used to her. In fact I'm not sure if you even know." She finishes her dinner and looks at him.

"And you and me?" He's curious to what her thoughts are about them.

"Like I said we share this strong connection, and we both know that right now we're what we need. We don't want to be alone, and this feels right, but I don't have the illusion that we'll fall in love for each other and live happily ever after."

"You turned into a cynic!"

"No, you just think I only see the good side of everything and ignore the bad."

A silence falls between them and Cameron's not sure if she went too far, but he's the one that asked for it.

"What you said about me and Cuddy is all a bunch of crap, you know." Truth is she might be onto something but he's not going to think too much of it, ignore what's uncomfortable is what he does best. Cameron has always been good at drilling holes on his defense walls and take peeks at what's inside, she manages to get under his skin and she seems to do it without much effort.

"Sure." She dismisses him.

They spend the rest of dinner in silence avoiding each other's gaze.

**R&R**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

After they leave the small diner House drives them in silence back to her place.

Once they get to Cameron's home exhaustion overcomes both of them, their little conversation at the restaurant had an impact on them and House blames Cuddy and Wilson for it. Cameron heads for the bathroom for a much needed shower and to put some distance between the two of them.

When she steps out and into her bedroom wrapped in a fluffy towel, House's already down to his boxers and t-shirt lying in bed watching her movements (he enjoys doing that a lot), his back rests against the headboard both his arms behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. At first she was a bit uncomfortable with his piercing stare but now she's gotten used to it, and in a way she kind of welcomes it, it makes her feel wanted.

She's searching for some underwear when his voice stops her.

"Don't bother to put those on." He gestures to her clothes and she feels the dynamics in the room change, she guesses the time apart while she was in the shower was a good thing.

Maybe.

"I'm not gonna sleep naked." Before she knows it he's standing in front of her, for a guy with a bum leg he sure can move fast, then again he's got years of practice. Without uttering another word he takes the clothes from her hands and places them at the end of the bed. He's so tall and she's barefoot so she has to lean up in order to see his eyes, they're a darker shade of blue, and it's like they're slowly sucking her in almost like he's hypnotizing her.

He slowly but confidently lifts one hand and places it on top of the knot that holds the towel in its place and her breath catches in her throat when his knuckles graze her skin. House unties it and the towel pools down at her feet leaving her completely exposed to him, only he's not looking at her body he's looking straight into her eyes in a fierce lock trapping her in and she can feel her heart rate increase exponentially. Only he has that power over her.

He places both his hands on her shoulders and leans down to kiss her with such intensity that it contrasts with his soft touch before, one hand leaves her side and tangles in her wet hair pressing her even more to him. He directs her and she walks backwards until she falls in bed with him on top of her pinning her to the mattress with his body weight. Cameron moves her palms up and down his back and she tries to take his t-shirt off, he pulls back for just enough time to take off both his t-shirt and boxers, but once she reaches for him he grabs both her wrists and pins them above her head preventing all her movements.

House looks down at her and by the look on his eyes she can see this is gonna be different from all the other times. He places both her writs under just one of his larger hands and starts trailing kisses down her neck to her breasts, but these aren't gentle kisses, he's scratching her with his stubble leaving red marks all over her pale skin. The odd thing is that it's turning her on. Or maybe that's not odd at all, she's not sure, the intensity of it all clouding her thoughts.

House goes back up kissing her forcefully on the lips, they're already swollen and the skin on her face is turning red as well from the scratches his stubble causes. She squirms under him and tries to release one hand to touch him to feel his skin, anything, but his grip his too tight and he's much stronger. She's frustrated and aroused at the same time and to show him this she bites his lower lip just hard enough to draw little drops of blood, he instantly breaks the kiss gazes at her and without warning plunges himself into her. Condoms are no longer a concern, Cameron went back on the pill after that first time, feeling him inside her without any barrier makes it much more intense.

The unexpected movement drives her over the edge and to her surprise she climaxes right there just for the feel of having him inside her, he's not even moving and she's already in ecstasy screaming loudly enough for the neighbors to hear. He waits until she recovers to start moving in and out of her and all she can see is a smug grin on his face. Cameron's movements are limited since he doesn't seem to want to let go of her hands, of course if she really wanted to stop this she could. She doesn't want to.

Cameron figures he's trying to regain some of the control he has lost over his emotions, she believes that in some twisted way he's trying to prove her wrong about her earlier assessment about him and Cuddy and also her own relationship with the man in question. She's just not sure if he's trying to prove it to her or to himself, but she has no doubt in this moment there's no one else on his mind but her, she has been with him enough times to be sure of that.

As he continues to pump into her harder and faster she wraps her long legs around his waist creating a new angle and bringing him impossibly closer, their moans get louder and louder and she can feel how close she is again and he's not far behind her. She cries out in pleasure again even louder than before if that's possible and he follows her, her name on his lips muffled by the bite he leaves on her shoulder blade. House collapses on top of her and finally releases his grip on her wrists, they're not bruised but the pain is there, however hers is nothing compared to what he's probably feeling, supporting himself in only one good leg and one free arm can't be easy.

Even though she welcomes his weight on top of her he's slowly crushing her, with her now free arms she carefully rolls him to her side and she pulls the covers over them. After a while Cameron thinks he's asleep but then he takes both her hands in his larger ones and much to her surprise House places a kiss in each of her wrists, and it's the gentlest thing she has ever seen him do in the years she's know him.

This was most defiantly not an ordinary day. Or night for that matter.

**R&R**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

House arrives at her apartment and finds Cameron still in her work clothes, she's working on her computer and not paying much attention to him. It's extremely frustrating.

"Let's go out to dinner, but you have to change." He's currently sitting on her couch trying to divert her attention from the computer.

"I have to finish this, it's important." For the last week Cameron's been working on an article and House is done with it. She hasn't even looked at him properly.

"Come on, you need to eat, take a break." He insists.

"Maybe later, and why do I have to change?"

"Because right now we don't match." For the first time that night Cameron glances up to really see him, he's wearing his old leather jacket and she frowns, he hasn't wear that since he crashed his bike some time ago.

While she's staring at him he takes advantage and shuts down her computer.

"House!"

"Oh come on, like you didn't know I was gonna do that. Now hurry up and go change." With a huff she stands up, there's no point in continuing, he won't give up until he has what he wants. She doesn't put much of a fight either.

"Where are we going anyway?" She asks as she walks to the bedroom to change.

"Haven't you ever heard it's not the destination that counts but the journey?" He mocks.

"Fine, don't tell me." She yells from the bedroom while he waits on the couch watching cartoons on TV while taping his cane on the floor.

After a moment she appears back and stands in front of him. He stares at her and her choice of clothes, she's wearing a tight black leather jacket over what appears to be a red top, tight dark jeans and a pair of high heel black boots. To him she's screaming fuck me.

"Do I match now?" Her voice has a sassy tone.

She smirks smugly at his goofy expression. But in no time he recovers and stands up towering over her gazing into her eyes.

"Feeling pretty smug don't you?" He says as he brushes a few strands of hair from her beautiful face.

"Yes." The way she answers him that yes can have so many other meanings than just an answer to his question. She walks in front of him down the hall to the elevator and he takes the opportunity to study all her assets, the goofy smile makes another appearance.

As they leave the building Cameron starts scanning for his car but can't find it. House notes this and smirks to himself as he limps to a black bike parked right in front of her place.

"You bought a bike?" She asks surprised.

"It's been too long since I rode one of these." He takes his helmet and passes her a second one smaller then his own, clearly made for a woman to use.

"When did you buy it?" She inquires as her eyes scan the machine.

"About two hours ago." He says nonchalantly.

She doesn't say anything, she's not sure what to make of it, he bought a bike and the first thing he does is come to get her for a ride, and let's not forget he also bought a helmet for her.

"Are you gonna stand there and look, or are you gonna mount this baby? Come on you know you want to."

She snaps out of her thoughts, puts the helmet on and gets behind him wrapping her arms tightly around his middle and he revs the engine a couple of times before taking off making her laugh out loud. She enjoys when he's happy like this.

They drive for about an hour and it feels so good to be this close to each other. To House this is one of the best ideas he's had in a long time, having Cameron's body pressed to his back feels much better than he remembers, and he's thankful she didn't probed him for answers about the second helmet clearly bought for her. He's not even sure himself why, but when he was at the store all he could think of was how nice it would be to ride through the city with her.

Finally they come to a stop in front of a little diner, House pulls his cane from the holder and he's mesmerized by Cameron. After she takes her helmet off she tries to fix her long blond hair with her fingers and it's the sexiest thing he has ever seen.

"What?" She catches him.

"Just checking if you're ok, it's a powerful machine." And he limps in the diner's direction, leaving her with a confused expression.

Once in the diner they find a booth and sit in front of each other, shedding their jackets and making themselves comfortable, which for House means stretching his right leg resting it right besides her.

"So why are we here?"

"This diner is special."

"Seems pretty normal to me." Cameron says as she glances around.

A waiter approaches them and House asks for two burgers and two beers before she can even get a word out.

"Relax, this place has the best burgers you'll ever have in your life."

The waitress brings them their order and Cameron confirms his statement.

"Wow, these are really good." She manages to say between bites.

"Would I lie? Just don't tell Wilson, he can be such a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Yes you would lie. And you never brought Wilson here?" She asks before she knows it.

"He's not as pretty as you." He shrugs it off.

They end up having a really good time, they eat and talk about nothing serious and then they go for another ride. House is surprised that not once did Cameron told him to slow down or say anything about his driving. All and all it's a fun relaxing dinner. Maybe a foreshadow of what it could be if this was an actual serious relationship, but they don't think about that.

Besides the night is not over yet…

**Just a small chapter to show how good they can be together.**

**R&R**


	12. Chapter 12

**My stories "Mobing Back" and "Empty" have both been nominated for a House/Cameron award at Live Journal Community hc_fanficawards ! I'm super happy! Thank you to whoever nominated the stories! Just being nominated is an honor.**

Chapter 11

After a few hours of just enjoying the new bike House parks and gestures for her to stand, once again he's caught staring at her when she tries to fix her hair.

"Where are we?" She was too caught up in the ride she just now notices they're not at her place.

He doesn't answer her with words, instead he pulls out his keys and opens the door to his and Wilson's home.

"Wait, this is your apartment?" She asks a little unsure of whether she wants a yes or a no as the answer.

"No, I stole my patient's keys and we're doing a B and E." He steps in and Cameron hesitantly walks in after him.

"What about Wilson?" Cameron whispers walking right behind him.

"He's a heavy sleeper." House uses his normal tone of voice.

The place is mostly dark except for the hallway lights, House limps down the hall and enters his bedroom and Cameron quickly closes the door behind her.

"I'll give you the grand tour tomorrow." He discards his cane and limps to the bathroom leaving Cameron alone.

She takes the opportunity to study his bedroom, it's very manly but appealing at the same time, much like the man himself. She sits on the bed and takes her boots off, she has no idea what she's doing here, when they're together it's always at her place and they've never discussed it otherwise, after all this is not a real relationship, or so she keeps telling herself. After all she does have to protect her fragile heart.

House steps out and interrupts her line of thought, and for the first time that night she notices him favoring more his leg.

"Your leg hurts?" She asks before she even knows it.

"My leg always hurts." He sheds his clothes only to be left in his t-shirt and boxers hoping she'll let it go. Pain is not his favorite topic of conversation, far from it. Just because he went to Mayfield and he's not on vicodin anymore doesn't mean he wants to talk about his pain management.

"Maybe we shouldn't had been on the bike for so long, you're in pain and-"

"Stop it! I don't need your caring or concern so just stop it." He snaps and if looks could kill she'd be dead and buried.

Over the last months they've talked about a lot of things, her broken marriage, Cuddy, and Wilsons' suspicions that he was back on vicodin but his pain is off limits and Cameron just crossed them.

House lies in the middle of the bed with his eyes closed, he brought her to his place but not for this. There's a tension that fills the room and neither know how to break it, well House knows he should just say sorry and be done with it, but his pain is not something he wants to talk about it and Cameron should know that by now.

She watches him for a moment pondering her next action, she slides her jacket off and places it by the end of the bed, she then inhales deeply as if to give her courage for what she's about to do.  
House feels the bed dip beside him and next thing he knows Cameron is carefully lying down half on top of him, her leg over his left one and her upper body on top of his much larger chest. Slowly she lowers her hand to his right thigh and begins to massage it with care.

As soon as she touches him his first instinct is to throw her out but her touch is so soft and gentle and he misses being this intimate with another person, this open, and slowly he relaxes under her ministrations. This is the reason he brought her to his place tonight, to get some resemblance of what they share in his home, in his bed instead of hers, to make this place feel like home again. After a while he relents and sighs, he starts rubbing her back sliding his hands under her top occasionally. She feels encouraged by his movements and places soft kisses on his chest over his t-shirt.

"Better?" She glances up at him to find him staring at her with those beautiful blue eyes that seem to see right into her very soul.

The energy slowly shifts in the room, he pulls himself up against the headboard and drags her with him, she adjust herself and moves her leg completely over him so she's straddling him always mindful of his right thigh. House kisses her passionately with such intensity she almost can't breathe. He pulls her red top over her head messing up her hair only to find she's wearing a red bra the same shade as her top. He takes a moment to take in the vision before him.

"You're so beautiful." It's not the first time he pays her a compliment and he never denied he found her an attractive woman, lobby art to be precise. But when he says it like that she can't help but blush.

Done with him staring at her she grabs the hem of his t-shirt, he puts his arms up and she removes it completely, her palms trail up his strong chest feeling the sparse hair and in no time their lips are locked again. House slowly slides one bra strap down her shoulder and places soft kisses on her creamy skin, he does the same to her other shoulder and she shivers at his touch while releasing a deep moan. Finally he ends this sweet torture and unclasps her bra. He continues to kiss her this time down her neck to her breasts and Cameron doesn't remember a time when he's been so gentle with her, his stubble isn't scratching it's more like a ticklish sensation, there will be no marks on her body this time.

House lowers his hands to her waist and unbuttons her jeans, he tries to slide them down but in their current positions it's impossible.

"Take them off." He commands, his voice full of desire.

Cameron stands up from the bed and slides them off revealing her red thong.

"You really do match tonight." He jokes as he takes his boxers off as well and she smiles sexily.

They resume their previous position, Cameron guides him inside of her and House gently grips her hips and helps her lower herself onto him. She moves too slowly for his liking and when he looks at her she just smirks.

"Cameron." His voice is almost pleading and he hates and loves it at the same time.

She increases their rhythm and House growls in her neck, their chests rubbing together only increase their pleasure. Slowly they build up to their climaxes a few more thrusts and they reach ecstasy together crying each other's names. House holds her until the shakes of her orgasm subside intertwining his hands in her hair pulling her for a deep kiss.

"I really hope you're right about Wilson being a heavy sleeper." She mumbles.

"Actually I just said that to put you at ease, he's a light sleeper."

"In that case I guess this was payback for what he put you through with his ex-wife." He wasn't expecting her to be angry about it, but he didn't thought she would be ok with it either, but this is Cameron, she's all nice and sweet and then she'll throw a comment like that and shock him.

Soon they're both asleep in his bed tangled in each other's arms. At first when they started this she was surprised that Greg House actually likes to cuddle, but then she remembers he's been alone for so long that he probably needs the physical contact just as much as she does, in a way it's very comforting.

She snuggles close to him and he sighs in contentment. He's home.

**R&R**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the long wait, sometimes life just gets in the way…**

Chapter 12

Wilson wakes up to the smell of coffee and frowns he glances at clock and its way too early for House to be up. He walks to the kitchen and finds a blond woman in nothing but a large t-shirt that he recognizes as one of House's finishing up a pot of coffee.

"Cameron?" Maybe he's still sleeping and not seeing properly.

Cameron turns around to find a stunned Wilson.

"Hi Wilson. Good morning."

House really was telling the truth when he said he was sleeping with Cameron, Wilson concludes.

"Morning." He sits on the stool, his mouth a little open trying not to stare at her while she seems strangely comfortable.

"Coffee?"

"Hum, sure." She pours him a cup of coffee and sits in front of him.

"So you and House huh?"

"So you and your ex-wife huh?" They both smile.

"Sorry, I'm just surprised that's all."

"You care about him, that's good." She takes a sip of her coffee.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you just came out of a marriage and House from Mayfield and let's not forget all his other issues…" He trails off waving his hand for emphasis.

"Right now we're what we need, I don't think about the future just the present. House and I… we're helping each other, this is a good thing."

"He does seem less grumpy…" He murmurs mostly to himself.

House stands in the corner listening to their conversation, he expected Cameron to shy away from Wilson's questions but she did just the opposite. It amazes him how she can be so predictable sometimes and others she simply breaks all the preconceived notions he has about her. He decides to make his presence known and limps into the kitchen.

"Good morning, having a nice talk?"

"Just catching up." Wilson answers.

"Sit down, I'll pour you some coffee." Cameron hands him a cup of coffee.

"You make crappy coffee." House states.

"So you keep saying and yet you always drink it." She replies back.

"Yeah, yeah, and why are you wearing my t-shirt?" He teases.

"Thought it wouldn't be a good idea to walk around naked." Wilson watches their interaction with amusement.

"Wilson and I are best buddies, I can share with him."

"House!" Wilson intervenes.

"That's ok Wilson, plus I have to get ready for work, don't wanna be late." Cameron saunters back to the bedroom grinning leaving the two friends to talk.

"You brought her home last night." Wilson starts.

"That fact that she was half naked just now seems to say so, unless I'm hallucinating but then so would you. And why would you be hallucinating with Cameron?"

"You never brought her here before."

"She looked super hot yesterday." Wilson gets that House doesn't want to go too deep into it, he lets it go, and a silence falls.

"Bought a new bike yesterday." House says out of the blue.

"Wow! That's great."

Wilson watches his friend drinking his coffee and recalls his behavior for the last weeks, maybe Cameron is right, right now they need one another, healing each other's wounds. House is making an effort to go back to the things he enjoys and he really seems less miserable. This thing between him and Cameron could really help him, it's something to hold on to.

Later the two friends walk through the hall of PPTH, House goes straight to the elevator while Wilson stays a little longer to chat with a few nurses. Cuddy watched them arrive and approaches Wilson, the nurses quickly disperse.

"What's up with him to get here this earlier?"

"Nothing, he just woke up early today."

"His leg?" Cuddy insists.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure his leg was the last thing on his mind this morning." Wilson has a goofy smile that just leaves Cuddy more curious.

"You don't have to worry about him, he's doing much better than we all thought."

"And why is that?" She frowns.

"When I woke up today I was faced with Cameron in the kitchen wearing nothing but one of House's t-shirts making coffee. He was telling the truth, they're sort of together." He explains.

Cuddy is speechless, she assumed House was playing with them, or maybe she just wanted to believe that was the case.

"She's good for him." Wilson finishes and walks off, not noticing how the news affected Cuddy more than it really should for a woman in a relationship with another man.

By afternoon House and his team have diagnosed their patient and he's currently on the computer while his team sits in the conference room taking care of the discharged papers. He's interrupted by a pair of heels and looks up to see Cuddy sitting in front of the desk.

"New patient?"

"Are you sure about what you're doing?" She uses an even tone trying to maintain her composure.

"Never am. But what are we specifically talking about here?"

"You and Cameron."

"Wilson is such a gossip girl. And it's none of your business."

"House stop this, you're only going to hurt her in the end." House feels his anger starting to boil.

"Again I don't see why you have to meddle, don't you have hospital business to do, or go and play happy family with PI guy?"

"You really think this is a good idea? This is just gonna bring trouble." She points with her head towards Chase in the conference room oblivious to the conversation about his now ex-wife.

"What I do outside the hospital walls is not your concern, so just leave it." His voice gets louder but not enough for his team to get suspicious.

Cuddy has no choice and stands up to leave, once she opens the glass door she turns to him.

"This is wrong and you know it." She quietly states and leaves.

Despite his anger House can't stop but be interested in Cuddy's reaction, she rejected him time and time again and yet here she is meddling in his new found relationship.

By night Cuddy glances to the man lying next to her in bed, she thought she had a good thing going with Lucas, he cares about her and more important about Rachel, she should be happy, no, she should be thrilled. But she's not, not even close.

Cuddy never expected to be so affected by House's new relationship, truth be told she never counted on him moving on, and she certainly didn't expected him to do it with Cameron. Of all the women in the world and he moved on with Cameron. Maybe she's being selfish but she always assumed House would be there if she chose to be with him, if he couldn't be with her he wouldn't be able to be with anyone else, how foolish of her to think that way.

She rolls around in bed trying to get some sleep, but the twinge of jealousy prevents it. Cuddy won't deny that there was always some underlying tension between the two women no matter how subtle it was, for some reason Cameron managed to insert herself in House's personal life like no other team member ever had, and she managed to do it after only a few years, she possesses some of the same influence on him that Cuddy and Wilson took years to achieve. But House rejected her and she moved on to Chase, but now she's back in his life single and more mature, could House possible see her has his equal now? She sighs, this line of thought isn't gonna lead up to anything good.

**R&R**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

Another month passes and things are pretty normal, or at least as normal as they can be. House stands leaning on his cane waiting for the elevator when Wilson approaches him.

"Doing anything tomorrow night?" Wilson inquires.

"Besides Cameron, no." Wilson simply ignores the sex innuendo.

"I was thinking we could all go out for dinner, or maybe just drinks."

"You want to go on a double date?" House looks at Wilson like he suddenly grew a third eye.

"Yeah, why are you looking at me like that?"

"You with your ex first wife, me with my ex employee, that wouldn't be weird at all." He uses a mocking tone.

"Weird was the two of them meeting for the first time yesterday morning when they bumped into each other in the kitchen."

"No, that wasn't weird, that was super fun! Two half naked women in our home, how could you not enjoy that?"

"I'm just saying if they're gonna keep bumping into each other might as well make things a little more comfortable."

"I was pretty comfortable." Wilson rolls his eyes.

"Not for you, for them."

The elevator arrives and House steps in.

"Fine, I'll talk to Cameron about it, I'm picking her up at her hospital now." He says before the doors close.

What they both don't know is that on the corner stands Chase. He was coming to see House to sign the release papers of their latest patient when he heard the name of his ex-wife. Chase is rooted to the floor paralyzed trying to digest the new information, Cameron is not only here but she's in some sort of relationship with House. He's shocked and angry. Angry at House, but mostly he's angry at Cameron.

Next morning House arrives at the office, late as usual, he sheds his jacket and backpack and heads to the conference room.

"Got any new case?"

"Nothing." Foreman shrugs bored.

"Oh, don't look so sad, I'm sure by Monday someone will be on the verge of death for you to play with." Forman isn't affected by House's words, he doesn't even bother to roll his eyes.

House looks around to see one missing team member.

"Where's the wombat?"

"No idea, maybe he's late." Taub suggests.

"Well, tell him when he gets in he's due in the clinic, I'm back on my hours this week." He starts limping out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Thirteen asks.

"Help healing the poor bald kids in oncology, I'm such a good soul." He fakes a tear with his finger.

"Yeah right! He's just gonna bug Wilson." Thirteen mumbles.

"I heard that." House yells already out in the hallway.

Later that day House is on his way to lunch when a certain hospital administrator stops him.

"House, you're supposed to be in the clinic!"

"I am. I'm just using a different hair color and no cane."

"House just get down there." Her tone of voice showing much more than just simple annoyance.

"Relax, Chase is playing me."

"Chase hasn't showed up today, I have no idea why. Though it doesn't surprise me that you have no idea if your team is here or not."

"Oh please, stop this passive aggressive thing! If you want to annoy me just do it for the reason you really want, not about clinic duty or my team."

"Just do your job." Cuddy walks away.

Across New Jersey, Chase walks by the hospital corridors trying to find a certain office. Once he learned Cameron was in town it wasn't hard to find in which hospital she's working.  
He reaches the intended office, on the door it says A. Cameron Md. Chase takes a deep breath and enters without knocking, by this point his anger has taken over his actions and he doesn't even consider the chance she might be with a patient or with colleagues for that matter.

Cameron's busy catching up on her charts before lunch when she hears someone entering her office, immediately she looks up and she's in shock to see her ex husband in front of her.

"Chase? What are you-" She's cut off.

"So I see it's true. You lied to me , you never intended to go to Chicago." Anger clearly shows in his voice.

"I didn't lie Chase, I did go to Chicago for a while, but then I came back to New Jersey."

"You came back for him. I can't believe how much of a fool I was." His voice is starting to get louder.

"Maybe we should go and have coffee or something." The last thing she wants is to have a fight with her ex husband in her work place.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! So tell me last time you were here you slept with me and then what? Did you go to him after? Two guys in one night? That's really something Cameron!"

"Of course not! I bumped into him in a bar but nothing happened! Everything I said to you that day was the truth." And it was. She and Chase managed somehow to have a clean break and she doesn't want to ruin that.

"It was always him! You always had this pathetic obsession with him and now that you got rid of me you're finally acting on it!" Cameron has never seen him so angry or hurt before.

"It's not like that Chase. I didn't plan this." She's so glad that her hospital doesn't have glass walls.

"You really don't think he has feelings for you, do you? You're nothing but a substitute for Cuddy. As soon as she realizes that she wants House he'll leave you!" He yells.

"Stop it Chase!" She yells back tying to block out his hurtful words.

"House is just using you, can't you see that? You're nothing but his… his whore." Chase regrets saying it the minute it comes out, but his brain is too clouded and now it's too late. She hurt him so he hurts her back.

Before she knows it Cameron slaps him hard, she can no longer hold the tears, they run freely down her face.

"Get out!" Her tone is dangerously low.

"I thought you were smarter than this." He says as he rubs his red cheek.

"Now!" She demands and he turns back and leaves.

Luckily she doesn't have any patient to see this afternoon, so she goes home earlier. A nice long hot bath is looking more appealing than ever.

When House knocks on her door he's expecting to see a Cameron dress to impress, contrary to what he thought he's actually looking forward to this so called double date, it's an attempt at doing something normal. He's slightly disappointed when she opens the door in a tank top and loose pajama bottoms. Cameron doesn't even greet him, she simply leaves the door open for him and goes back to the kitchen where she's cleaning up, on the top of the counter rest a glass of wine. House immediately senses something is not right.

"As attractive as you look I don't think that's the proper outfit for a night out."

"I'm not going." She doesn't even look at him.

"And why is that?" Now is annoyed with her.

"Because I don't feel like pretending to be your girlfriend tonight." Her voice is harsh, House tries to be patient but patience is not his strong suit.

"O…kay. Wanna tell me what bug crawled up your ass to make you act this way?" He taps his cane on the floor.

"Just leave House, go and be with your friends."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He's now pacing in front of her taken completely off guard with her behavior.

"So many things, I'm damaged, remember?" Her voice is low but full of anger, she knows that it's not House's fault but she can't help it. He's here and she's lashing out on him. As for House if he was surprised before now he's just shocked.

"Just go home." She stands up to go to her room but House grabs her arm and stops her. He looks into her eyes and this is one of those few times he can't read her, he softly places each hand on her sides. It's a tender touch but Cameron's mind keeps replaying Chase's words, she jerks away from his touch and away from him.

"Stop it House! You can't just come here and expect me to do whatever you're in the mood for. I'm not at your beck and call, I'm not your whore!" She yells and tears are falling down her face for the second time today.

House can't believe the words that come out of her mouth. It's rare when he doesn't know what to say and this is one of those times.

"Just leave me alone." Cameron says completely drained.

He turns around and drives like a crazy man until he gets home, he doesn't bother telling Wilson he's a no show, he simply throws in cane away knocking a lamp and closes himself in his bedroom.

So much for a normal night out.

**R&R**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14

The weekend is spent alone, Cameron spends her time between lying in bed and the couch in her living room, Chase's words had a deeper impact than she likes to acknowledge, but in the end she's only human. House's weekend isn't much more different, after Wilson trying unsuccessfully to figure out what's wrong he just gives up hoping House won't drink himself to numbness.

By Monday morning House drags himself to work, he enters the diagnostics conference room and notes that Chase is absent once again.

"I see the wombat decided not to come in today again. You guys should follow his example." He just wants to be alone, and his voice clearly shows he's not in a good mood.

"Cuddy's been looking for you, she seemed pretty pissed off." Forman informs him.

"When is she not? Seriously that woman needs to get properly laid." He pours himself some coffee.

"More pissed off than usual." Thirteen adds.

"What are you guys still doing here? Didn't I tell you to follow the wombat example? Get out of here, go find something to do." Taub and Thirteen leave but Forman stays put.

"Whatever you did, it better had been worth it. Cuddy looked like she was ready to cut your balls out." After that he leaves too.

House frowns, he hasn't done anything lately, he doesn't even have a patient. He could go to her office and find out, but he's still suffering the aftermath of his fight with Cameron. Better to just stay in his office and brood.

A few hours later Cuddy comes in and Forman was right, she looks angrier than ever.

"Didn't your team tell you I wanted to see you?"

"I never pay any attention to what those morons say." He doesn't bother making eye contact.

"House this is serious, my office now!" Since he's not in the mood for another fight he simply follows her with no idea of what expects him.

Once in her office House sees Chase is already in and his expression is not a happy one.

"Look who decided to show up for work."

"Is this really necessary? I already gave you all the paper work." Chase dryly says to Cuddy not looking in House's direction.

"I just want to make sure you know what you're doing, you're making this decision without thinking clearly." Cuddy says back and House wonders what they're talking about.

"What? You finally decided to grow a brain?"

"House." Cuddy warns.

"I'm leaving."

"Really? Going back to surgery?" For someone who went through so much trouble to get his team back he doesn't actually care whether Chase leaves or not which he finds a bit surprising.

"Leaving the hospital, I can't work near you anymore."

"You're the one who wanted to stay when the wife left."

"That was before I knew you were gonna sleep with her." Chase is angry and his voice shows it. The pieces start to make sense and he concludes that he must have talked to Cameron. Chase probably said something that upset her hence the freaking out on Friday.

"Well can you really blame me? I mean she does this sweet little noises just when she's about to-" He doesn't get to finish, Chase launches himself at him punching him on the left side of his face. He stumbles back and falls on the couch behind him, at least he doesn't hurt his leg. Thank God for the couch! The morning just gets better and better.

Cuddy rushes to them and stands between them.

"You're a bastard and she's idiot enough to be with you!" Chase yells, his face red of anger.

"Oh yeah, like you really know her, you were with her for years but you never really knew her!" House shouts ignoring the pain on his face.

"And you think you do?" He asks bitterly.

"You pushed her into a relationship with you, a relationship she didn't want, she had so many doubts before the wedding but yet again you went forward with it."

"So this is my fault? Cameron is the perfect woman!"

"That's just it, she's not and you knew it! You knew she was screwed up but you ignored it! You chose to pretend her issues weren't there and you still married her! You only saw what you wanted and ignored the rest!"

House doesn't have to punch him, his words hurt much more than a hundred hits. During the lockdown Cameron herself admitted she was a mess even before the wedding and House is right, he chose not to see it, to pretend everything was ok. Until it wasn't.

He was so in love with her Cameron that he didn't notice what was really going on with her, in the his big love ended up being his downfall, he was blinded by love.

"You have my paper work." Chase says to Cuddy and walks out feeling more defeated than ever.

Cuddy simply nods and once he's gone she turns to House now up on his feet leaning on his cane with a soon to be black eye.

"I warned you. I warned you that this thing with Cameron was a mistake that it was trouble, but did you listen to me? No, of course you didn't."

"Oh shut up! Like you have a reason to talk! I least I have a real connection with her while you're just living a lie!" And he storms out, and in no time he's riding the streets of Princeton trying to clear his thoughts and figure out his next move.

Cuddy sinks down in the chair behind her desk processing what just happen, and House's last words, she's living a lie. His words are cruel and hurtful and damn him because she knows he's right. She's been deceiving herself all this time.

She remembers the decision she made, she just has to be brave enough to follow through it which is not easy considering she has a daughter and that above all she should put Rachel's happiness first and not her own.

But how can she make Rachel happy if she's not happy herself?

**R&R**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

When Cameron gets home it feels like it's the end of the week and not Monday, she's already so tired, all her muscles feel heavy and not even the prospect of a good night of sleep helps. She sheds her coat in the living room and heads to the bedroom only to stop in her tracks. House is lying down in her bed on top of the covers apparently sleeping. His tennis shoes are on the floor as it's his cane, she doesn't see his jacket it's probably in the living room, she was just too tired to notice it. Cameron has no idea of what he's doing here especially after Friday's fight. The big bruise on his face doesn't go unnoticed.

For a moment she ponders leaving the bedroom and go back to the living room but decides against it.

Carefully as not to wake him, she walks to her side of the bed and sits, she removes her shoes and she's startled when she hears him taking a deep breath, he's not sleeping as she previously thought.

"You're home late." She turns her head just enough to see his deep blue eyes gazing at her.

"Had to catch up on some work. I thought you were sleeping." She says turning her face back away from him so as not to see his eyes anymore, sometime she feels as though he can see right through her and into her most secret thoughts.

"Chase is leaving the hospital." He states and she gapes at this. That news makes her face him.

"Something about not being able to work with me anymore." He adds reading her every reaction.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Nothing. What did he tell you?" Of course he figured out Chase came to see her, she thinks, he's House after all.

"Said I was a fool, that you're just using me. Compared me to a hooker. All nice things really."

He sits up with his back to her. He can't believe she listened to Chase, he always thought they had so much more between them, he can't exactly label it but he knows it's something strong, at least that's what he thought.

Cameron sighs, she knows what House is thinking. Slowly she crawls in bed and wraps her arms around him resting her cheek against his back. He doesn't exactly welcome her touch but he also doesn't push her away, which is better than nothing.

"I know you never thought of me that way. You never treated me like a hooker." She can't see his face to read his reaction but she hopes her words will have some effect on him.

"But I was hurt, not only by his words but also for the fact that he's in pain because of me. Then you came here and I didn't want to fight with you but I kept hearing his words over and over again in my mind. I lashed out on you." She continues and tightens her hold on him.

"I'm sorry." She adds and by now she's just controlling herself not to cry in front of him again, she's stronger than that.

He breaks free from her arms and stands looking down at her kneeling on the bed looking more miserable than ever. She waits for some kind of reaction from him, anything.

"I guess I'm not the only one dumping my frustration and anger on others." He states.

"I guess not." She's so relived, he's not screaming or shutting her out, which she would understand if he did.

"What did you tell him?" She asks as she softly brushes the tip of her finger over his bruised cheek.

"Nothing." He shrugs.

"Whatever it was I'm sure you deserved that." A small shy smile reaches her lips.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side."

Cameron stands up in front of him, he's so tall she has to tilt her neck up to see his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She says again and House knows she means it, she's not a liar.

House leans down, he places his hands on her sides and kisses her with so much feeling, so much tenderness she feels her legs go weak, if he wasn't holding her in place she's sure she would crumble on the floor. He's the first to pull back to her dismay.

"I'm not going to sleep with you." He breathes into her mouth.

She opens her eyes and suddenly she's confused and scared, is this some sort of goodbye kiss?

"At least not today." He reassures her letting out a small smirk so typically his.

He takes a step back and starts shedding his clothes, shirt first and pants next. He pulls the covers down and lies in bed, she just stares at him frowning. House rolls his eyes and gestures with his hand for her to do the same.

Cameron removes her work clothes as well, leaving her in only her underwear, House can't help but be aroused by the sight of her but like he said he won't sleep with her, right now it's not sex they need.

She crawls in bed beside him and he opens his arms welcoming her, she buries her face in his chest, arms wrapped around each other and legs tangled together. This is what they need, to feel the heat radiating from their bodies, every inch of skin touching, this is the kind of intimacy that comes from simply holding each other that not even sex can provide. The world around them vanishes and all they're focused on is one another, nothing else.

**R&R**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

"Good morning my little minions!" House strides into the conference room using a cheerful voice, as cheerful as he can get, clearly showing his bad mood from the previous days has passed.

"You're in a good mood." Thirteen notes as Houses pours himself a cup of coffee.

"Had hot monkey sex last night." He offers as an explanation but none of his coworkers react already too used to his comments.

"What happen to Chase?" Taub asks curious as to why he hasn't shown up for work in several days.

"Chase decided he had enough of playing doctor, went back to his origins on kangaroo land. Do we have a case?"

"Cuddy said he resigned but didn't tell us why." Taub continues.

"If you're so curious why don't you go and ask him." They're starting to annoy him with all the questions about Chase.

"I called, he simply said you're a bastard." Forman speaks for the first time, his voice firm but calm in a way so charectheristicly him.

"Then there you go."

"Except he already knew that, which means something else happen, something big." Forman reasons and all eyes are on him waiting expectantly.

"You're right! I'm sleeping with his ex-wife and for some reason he didn't find it funny. Go figure."

"You slept with Cameron?" Thirteen asks in shock while Taub just gapes at him.

"If you don't want to tell us, fine. And yes we have a patient." Forman assumes House is just messing with them and doesn't believe him for a second.

Again time passes and they fall back to their comfortable routine once again, House even takes her out to a jazz club one night, one of his secret places, and they do end up having that double date with Wilson and Sam, it was a weird evening to say the least but they did have fun.

After another day of work House walks through the lobby about to leave the hospital when Cuddy stops him.

"Leaving already?"

"It's five o'clock, I'm ready to go."

"You have a patient."

"Cured ten minutes ago. Now if you'll excuse me I have a hot blond waiting for me." He limps outside.

Once in the parking lot he spots said blond by his bike, she's running her palm over the bike seat feeling the leather under her fingertips and he finds it strangely erotic.

"Need a ride?" He uses a husky voice and smirks. She redraws her hand and looks up at him.

"Actually I do." She smiles. And he loves when she smiles, her whole face lights up, it used to be a rare thing but she's doing it more often nowadays.

"Thought you were never coming back here." He recalls the statement of some time ago.

"I'm not going inside. I'm just in the parking lot." She's smiling again. He takes note that she's not wearing her work clothes, instead she's wearing a tight pair of low ride dark jeans, a black fitted t-shirt under a her leather jacket and a pair of high heel black boots to complete the outfit. Her hair is loose and the way the sun light shines on her makes the sight of her completely breathtaking.

"What if I don't want to give you a ride, I could have hot date you know?" He teases in that way only he can.

"You do have a hot a date." She states matter of fact and he can't deny how he likes her confidence.

"Is that so? What makes you so sure?"

"You see, I've heard about this concert in New York, I think it's some big band playing I'm not sure." He knows exactly what she's talking about, The Rolling Stones are doing a special gig in New York just for a limited audience, he's been talking about it for the past weeks and how much he would like to go.

"Anyway, I manage to get my hands on these." She pulls out from her jacket two vip tickets.

"How did you get these?" He immediately snatches them off of her hand to inspect them closely.

"Even with my connections I couldn't get one single ticket and you manage to have two!" Little Cameron can be so full of surprises.

"What can I say, my connections are better than yours." He tucks the tickets safely inside his pocket and towers over her, they don't even hear the clatter of the cane falling to the floor as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"That must have cost you a fortune." His voice drops to a lower tone making this conversation more intimate.

"I had to perform several sexual favors." She says seriously never breaking eye contact, she swears she could drown in those blue eyes of his.

"Totally worth it." He presses his body to hers.

"Glad you approve." He leans down and kisses her with passion, his hands slide under her jacket and down to cup her perfect ass, his kiss is so intense that for a moment she forgets where they are.

"Hey Cuddy, have you seen House? I need him to sign these so I can discharge our patient." Forman asks, he looks like he ran downstairs hoping not to miss him.

"You just missed him, he's probably still in the parking lot." They both walk to the hospital's glass doors only to stop in their tracks. There he is with his hands on Cameron's ass and she's not fighting him, in fact she welcomes his touch.

"Son of bitch! He was telling the truth." Forman lets out.

"What?" Cuddy turns to him.

"When Chase left, House said he was sleeping with Cameron."

"He told you?" She's shocked, she assumed it was a secret.

"He told all of us. Well it was obvious these two would eventually hook up, it was only a matter of timing." He pauses.

"I guess it only took them seven years, rehab and a broken marriage. Well, it's about damn time! Maybe she can soften him up a bit." Forman shrugs and heads back forgetting all about the paperwork.

Cuddy already knew they're together but to actually see them together it's a whole different thing. They way Cameron touches him like it's an everyday occurrence, she feels like smacking herself when she realizes that it is indeed. Cuddy can no longer lie to herself anymore, House's relationship affects her more than she would like to admit and that only means she's not happy with Lucas. This moment sort of makes her snap back into reality. Something has to be made about it.

She's made her decision.

**R&R**

**So this chapter is mostly a filler, but I felt the need for it, just to show they've overcome the whole situation with Chase.**

**I know it's a bit cliché to use the Rolling Stones on a House fic, but for the last few days I have the song "Wild Horses" stuck in my head and I just can't seem to shake it off… so I blame it on that.**


	18. Chapter 18

**My story "Moving Back" won the h/c fanfic award for best long angst fic! I'm so happy! Thanks to everyone that voted!**

**This chapter continues right after they leave the concert in New York.**

Chapter 17

After the concert House quickly rides them back to her place, once she opens the door she lets all the excitement out.

"That was amazing!" She sheds her jacket on top of the couch.

"I know, best night in a long time!" And he truly means it.

"Even better than when we went to that jazz club?"

"Even better." He states and he sees how his words have an effect on her.

"Really?" Her tone of voice is very sensual and she slowly walks back to lean on the wall behind her, her entire posture teasing him.

"Really." He takes a few steps towards her.

"Show me." Her eyes turn a darker shade, her voice barely above a whisper.

He sheds his jacket as well and throws his cane not bothering to see where it falls. He closes the final gap between them, presses his body to hers and kisses her like there's no tomorrow. His hand tangles in her hair while hers roam through his body until they wander under his t-shirt, her nails softly scratching his skin. He shivers under her touch and kisses her with even more intensity if that's possible.

Cameron tugs at the hem of his t-shirt and finally pulls it over his head so she can feel his strong muscles, for a guy that's cripple he sure as hell is in shape. He does the same to her black t-shirt removing it messing up her blond curls, the sight of her with dark eyes full of desire and dishevel hair leaves him stunned for a moment, almost like it's the first time he's doing this.

"Beautiful." He doesn't mean to say it out loud but the words simply escape from his lips.

House kisses her again with such intensity she bangs the back of her head on the wall, but she doesn't complain, the desire clouding the pain.

"Maybe we should take this to the bedroom." He mumbles between kisses.

She can't get any words out so she simply nods. Awkwardly they make their way to the bedroom removing their shoes along the way. Once inside House pops open the button of her jeans sliding them down her slender legs and she steps out of them. They walk backwards until Cameron feels the bed behind her, she sits down and looks up at House with a smug look, she works on his belt and then the zipper letting his jeans pool at his feet. He supports himself on her shoulders and steps out of them.

Cameron places gentle kisses on his navel and he moans in pleasure, the way she makes him feel is like nothing he's ever experienced before. He pushes her back in bed so she's lying down only in her black underwear and he hovers above her. His arms snake around her back and snap open the bra tossing it somewhere on the floor, his lips then start to caress every part of her soft skin from her throat, collarbone, down to her breasts, he's being so gentle Cameron shuts her eyes in pure pleasure letting out little sounds that make him even more aroused.

House then peals her panties out of her and his breath catches in his throat, there lies the most beautiful woman he ever set eyes on completely exposed for him. He has a hard time controlling himself not to come on the spot, no one had ever had this effect on him, not even Stacy. In a second he removes his boxers, he kisses his way back up her body until he reaches her neck and nibbles softly on her ear earning a moan from her.

"Open your eyes." He whispers and she obeys his demand.

Cameron meets big blue eyes that are now a deeper shade of blue, she pulls him down to kiss him and in an unexpected move rolls them so she's now on top of him. He's a little surprised, one moment she's totally lost in his touches and the other she takes control. Her hair falls down her shoulders like a curtain, the moonlight from outside shines over her body making her skin even more irresistible, and then her hands are roaming through his chest feeling him under her palms.

"I thought I was the one suppose to show you how much I enjoyed tonight. Shouldn't I be on top?" His hands stroking the skin of her bare thighs to her hips.

"Yeah, but you like it when I'm on top." She gives him a sexy smile.

"I do."

Before he has time to say anything else she sinks down on him taking him all inside of her. House releases a growl coming deep from his throat. He props himself against the headboard so he can touch her better, she supports herself griping his shoulders and with his hands on her hips helping her she starts moving on top of him, their chests rubbing on the other. They move in sync like they've been doing this dance together for a long time, and in a way they have.

Sweat starts to form on Cameron's body, her long blond hair clinging to her white skin, her movements start to get more erratic as she nears her climax and House has to grip her hips tighter in order to control her. Then she shuts her eyes clenching around him, her head falls and her back arches as she reaches pure bliss saying something he can't make out even though he can hear his name between her moans of pleasure.

House can't tear his eyes away from her face, he loves to see her expressions when she climaxes, and then all coherent thoughts leave his mind as he feels his own orgasm, he jerks inside of her saying her name, not Cameron but Allison. He has no idea why her first name came out instead of Cameron but he has no brain function left right now, as he's still watching her riding the last waves of her orgasm on top of him.

Cameron collapses on top of him, arms wrapped around his neck, head resting on his shoulder, he rubs her back in a soothing manner waiting for their shallow breathing to slow down. After a few minutes Cameron disentangles herself from him and pulls the covers so she can lay down under them. House watches her graceful movements and lies down too. He lies on his back and Cameron on her stomach.

House turns on his side to watch her, he slides the covers down just enough to expose her back, he rolls her hair aside from her face and places his palm on her spine feeling every bone there, her eyes never leaving his. He gently moves his palm up the length of the curve of her spine and again she closes her eyes his stare too intense to bare.

Goosebumps appear on her skin and House covers her again pulling her closer to his own body, she buries her face in his chest and he can feel her breathing on his skin. Gently he places one kiss on top of her head and closes his eyes as well, their bodies molded together.

Things have been pretty peaceful but not dull, House is content and it's the first time he feel this way in many years, he sometimes can't even believe he managed to achieve that with Cameron of all people.

Their relationship changed after the mess with Chase, it's more serious now, for once the entire PTTH knows about them, she doesn't care about it considering she doesn't work there anymore, however Cameron does have this tingling sensation that he's proud that people know about them, that they're some dark little secret. House won't go as far as to say he's in love with her but he's slowly getting used to the idea of calling her his girlfriend.

Yet Cameron can't hepl but think that its not gonna last. It never really does, not for her. Everytime she's remotly happy something happens and she's left heartbroken and alone.

**R&R**

**So some of you were concerned about what's Cuddy gonna do, but my goal here is to keep everyone in character (as much as possible anyway), so Cuddy is not gonna go all psycho or anything like that. She simply makes a hard decision.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

House is an observant man, he notices the little things, the small details that others miss, it's one of the things that set him apart from others, and for the last few days he's noted the subtle changes in Cuddy's behavior. He watches her for a moment through the glass walls of her office before he strides in.

"Cuddy! Need to cut into a guy's brain!" She looks up from her paper work and House notes her tired expression.

"Your patient doesn't have a brain problem." She answers back.

"I'm pretty sure he does, otherwise he's just stupid."

"House." Her voice sounds like a plea, Cuddy has no fight left in her which he finds extremely intriguing, she's always ready to bicker with him.

"There's something there, and there's no other way to confirm it unless I open his head."

"Ok." She relents.

"Ok?" Just like that? Maybe he heard it wrong.

"That's what I said."

"You're gonna let me do a danger procedure without fighting me?"

"If you think it would help." She shrugs.

He stands there for a moment. His patient isn't getting better, but he certainly doesn't need brain surgery, House was just trying to see what her reaction would be. The fact that she's willing to approve it so easily only shows how something is going on.

"What's wrong with you?" He sits in front of her and asks concerned.

"Nothing."

"Oh, trouble in paradise?"

"There is no paradise House."

"Fine. Trouble in HappyLand, then?"

"There is no paradise because Lucas and I are over. We broke up this last weekend." This is not how she wanted him to find out, obviously she made the right decision, there's no point in staying in a relationship when you know for sure it's going nowhere. And for finally making that decision she's incredibly relieved, but it still doesn't mean it was easy.

There were a lot of factors to take in account, particularly her daughter Rachel and her growing affection for Lucas, but ultimately she sees she can't provide a happy home for her daughter if she's not happy herself.

"Why?" He really wants to know.

"Because I realized you were right. I've been living in a fantasy, a good fantasy but one nonetheless." She might as well get it over with and tell him everything, she preferred to have a little more time, after all she's hopeful this will bring out House's feelings for her and that maybe this can be the start of something for both of them.

"You're not in love with him." It's not a question.

"You know I'm not." She says it in a quiet tone staring deeply into his eyes.

He's at loss for words, what he always wanted is finally happening and he's not sure how to deal with it. House simply nods and he's on his way out when her voice stops him.

"What about the patient?"

"I'll figure it out." And he's out the door, he needs time to process this new information and figure out what it all means to him.

On his way to his office he passes Wilson who notes his strange expression.

"Everything alright House?"

"Sure. Just found out Cuddy dumped PI guy." He feigns nonchalance but Wilson has known him for a long time and sees right through it.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, but who cares who the she devil dates, right?" Clearly he does.

"Right..." Wilson watches has his friend limps to his office with a pensive look on his face. He knows him well enough to know trouble is coming. Wilson doesn't prod for more, letting him be and deal with it in his own House way.

The next few days are spent avoiding both Cameron and Cuddy, until he finally relents and calls Cameron and invites her for dinner, Wilson is spending the night out with Sam. However she's swamp in work and can't come. Even better, he thinks, this way he has the place all to himself to think.

There's a knock on the door and House grunts at the interruption. He's been playing the piano for hours now trying to organize his thoughts.

"Hi." Cameron greets him and walks past him inside.

"I thought you had work to do." He notes how she's not comfortable like the other times she's been at his place, she standing in the middle of the room looking like she's about to go to the guillotine.

"I heard about Cuddy." That explains her current state.

"Everybody has by now."

"I love you." She says and it's the first time she says it to him. He's a little taken aback by it. She pauses for a moment before continuing, what she's about to say isn't easy.

"I love you, you made me whole again, you helped me when I didn't even know how to help myself. You once said I wanted to fix you, turns out you're the one who fixed me. How ironic is that?" She's fighting back tears now but she needs to tell him all this before she loses her courage.

"You make me happy and there is nothing more I want than for you to be as happy as I am when I'm with you…, even if it's not with me. When you left Mayfield you were a different man, I mean the core of what you are is still the same but there were these differences that showed you were actually trying. That you believed you deserved to feel some happiness that you don't have to be alone." Her voice starts to fail but she continues.

"You wanted to be with Cuddy, but she was with Lucas. And now she's not and you have your chance. I love you and I want to be with you, but because I love you I need to let you go." By now silent tears run down her face.

"If she's the one you want to be with I'm not gonna stand in your way. I'm not gonna force you to choose. You should go to her and tell her how you feel, you shouldn't waste time. You deserve to be happy."

House is stuck to the floor in shock, he sees Cameron stepping closer to him and she kisses him softly on the cheek much like she did when she left Princeton a year ago, and once again he's too stunned for a reaction.

"Bye House." She has said that too many times.

Cameron closes the door behind her and House is left there alone. For what it feels like forever he doesn't move, too much in shock to process what just happen, she said all she needed to say and he couldn't even get a single word out. Yet somehow he's relived.He can go after what he wants without feeling guilty.

**R&R**

**Please don't be mad, you knew this was coming since the prologue.**

**Next chapter we'll see House's next move now that he knows Cuddy is ready to be with him.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry about the waiting, and to think I used to update on a weekly basis…**

**Chapter 19**

The next few days House buries himself in work, he needs the distraction only medical cases can give him. Wilson tried unsuccessfully to figure out what's going on, but he has his own life to deal with, House hasn't seen or talked to Cameron again and as for his boss, well it doesn't help that he has to see Cuddy day after day.

It's late but he seriously doesn't care, by now he just wants to get this over with, it's not like he can live in uncertainty for much longer. He knocks with his cane on her door and waits patiently. After a while Cuddy opens the door wearing her night gown covered by thin robe. She's not as surprised as he expected her to be to see him here at her door step. Maybe he's more transparent than he thinks.

He doesn't wait for an invitation and passes through her into the living room plopping himself on the couch. Cuddy mimics his actions and sits beside him noting how his body is tense.

"Is Rachel sleeping?" He looks straight ahead and not at her.

"Yes."

"We ended things." He doesn't have to tell her what he's talking about, she knows its Cameron.

"Because of me?" There's a hint of hope in her voice but also of fear all combined in a big mess.

"She thinks I should try a relationship with you." He still doesn't make eye contact with her. Wasn't this supposed to be simpler?

"And you?"

Slowly he turns to her, her face is full of hope and yet she looks at him like he's going to deny her. Softly she brushes her hand over his stubble and he leans slightly welcoming her warm touch. House leans forward and kisses her softly, Cuddy immediately kisses back, there's no hesitation whatsoever. By all accounts it's the perfect kiss, gentle yet passionate, full of love yet also full of desire, and yet despite all this House feels something is off, it shouldn't but it does.

He pulls back just a little to regain some sense, this is not how he's suppose to feel.

"House." She whispers.

He tries again, he kisses her more passionately this time, he's supposed to feel love, he's supposed to feel something ... something that overwhelms all of his being… He breaks the kiss and shifts on the couch pulling back from her. He's confused and surprised and so many other things he doesn't know how to deal with. He was never good at dealing with emotions.

"It's her, isn't?" Cuddy is not stupid, she can see it in his face.

"Do you love her?" She asks not really wanting to hear the answer because she already knows what it will be, but yet needing to heart it. She needs to hear the words and face reality no matter how much it hurts.

"I don't know."

"Do you love me?"

"I… I thought I did." She sighs and feels all hope leave her. This is it. She's about to get up when his voice stops her.

"How do you feel about second chances?" He asks the exact same question Cameron asked him all those months ago when they met by chance at the bar after that intense lockdown.

"I think if a second chance presents itself you should take it."

"No matter what?"

"Isn't that what second chances are for?" House recalls the conversation he had with Cameron about second chances after her conversation with Chase. How unfair it would be to the other person if you're not completely committed to it.

"Right." He looks down at his hands, at his cane, at everything and nothing.

"House, you don't want this do you?"

"I'm sorry." He really is, sorry for hurting her, for hurting Cameron, for things he's not even sure. He pushes himself up and limps his way out shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah me too." She says to the dark silence.

Cuddy leans back on the couch, part of her knew this could happen but another just kept on hoping. Hoping she wasn't too late, that there was still time. But House isn't the type of man to hang around waiting for a woman to change her mind, eventually he moved on, whether he realized it or not.

And now it's time for her to do the same.

"Hey, where have you been?" Wilson looks up as House enters their home. He goes to the kitchen and grabs two beers from the fridge, he limps back to Wilson and sits on the couch handing one beer to him.

"Thanks." They sit in silence for what it feels like a long time but in fact it's only a few minutes.

"I kissed her."

"Cameron?"

"Cuddy. Twice."

"Oh."

"It was a mistake."

"Why?"

"I spent so much time after her, it's what I knew, what was familiar… I was fooling myself and didn't even knew it." It's weird to open up to Wilson without their usual routine with Wilson drilling for information and House deflecting, but House is too tired and just skips that part.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know."

It takes a while for House to get used to this new situation, to deal with his emotions, the days are spent working, and Cuddy avoids him keeping the interaction to a minimum, which he's thankful for. The team notices something is going on but chooses not to question him, House isn't mad or dumping his frustrations on them, he's just a little jaded and they respect him enough not to get in his way.

His thoughts drift to Cameron and how strong she really is. Most people might think she's weak, but he knows that couldn't be more wrong, she's just different, she has a quiet strength, and doesn't feel the need to show it to everybody, like Cuddy does. God, he really shouldn't compare them. Cameron has been through a lot, widow at twenty one, divorced by thirty one, and of course having to deal with him for years didn't help either.

He keeps having these flashes of her that overload his senses, the smell of her hair, how soft her skin is and how it glows in the morning under the sunlight, and the way she tastes. Not once did he consider that Cameron could have such an effect on him, after all they've know each other for seven years and she used to have a crush on him, he guesses it was a matter of timing, it wasn't right back then, they were in different places, maybe now they're finally on the same page. Timing… Maybe it's all about timing…

**R&R**

**So, I'm not really happy with this chapter, but it is what it is…**

**It was never my intention to portray Cuddy as a "bitch" and I wanted both House and her to act like adults and not like high school students.**

**I'm almost done with this story and hopefully I won't take too long to update again.**


	21. Chapter 21

**The last chapter is finally here! I'm really sorry for the delay, but after some major computer problems and my decision to go back to college (apparently one college degree isn't enough, lol), I found some time to sit and write this down.**

**I also would like to apologize for not responding to the reviews of last chapter, but like I said, major computer problems!**

Chapter 20

Cameron is living her days on auto pilot, get up, shower, work and get home to the bed she once shared with him. She made the right decision, she keeps telling herself, House wouldn't just walk away from her overnight, for all what people say about him he does have a very strong sense of loyalty, no, he'd stay with her for a while and then resent her deeply and be miserable not just for himself but for making Cameron miserable as well.

She made the right decision.

It would be like living in a lie, she's done that before with Chase and refuses to make the same mistakes again, she may be screwed up but she does learn from her mistakes. Being with a man that secretly is in love with another woman is not what she wants, even if that man is the love of her life. Cameron wants House by her side because he loves her and not for any other reason, if there's one thing she's learn is that she deserves to be happy and not settle for less, and so does House. That's something she firmly believes in and nothing is gonna change her mind.

So Cameron lets him go, does the so called right thing, however letting House go was one of the most painful experiences she's ever been through. Standing in the middle of his home telling him to go to Cuddy felt like she was being pierced by a thousand knifes slicing through her heart slowly torturing her. It took all her willpower not to breakdown in front of him and beg him to be with her, to _chose_ her, to _love_ her.

She made the right decision.

She hasn't seen or talked to House since that day, she has no idea whether House and Cuddy are together by now or not, they probably are, she realizes with sadness. Wilson tried calling her several times but she never picked up, if she can't be with House then she'll cut every bond, every little thing that reminds her of him hoping that will make things if not easier, then a little less hard. At least for the time being while the pain is at its most unbearable, after all it's not Wilson's fault and he has been nothing but good to her. It's not fair but then again life isn't fair.

For a moment Cameron considers moving again, but she's done running, New Jersey is her home and she has a good job, one that she actually enjoys, she will stay. She's done running.

After another day of work that went in a daze Cameron parks her car right outside her home, she enters her building, arrives at her door with keys in hand, she opens her door and closes it behind her. She takes off her shoes, dumps her bag on the floor and sheds her jacket like if removing the extra weight will help to lessen the weight she carries on her shoulders. It doesn't.

She walks to the kitchen to make some tea, maybe it will help her to sleep better. She's watching the water waiting for it to boil when she feels a presence behind her, the desire to have him there is so strong her brain starts to play tricks with her. But then she feels this presence getting closer and closer to her, until she feels one hand on her shoulder, she should be scared that there's someone else in her apartment, but Cameron knows its him, she can smell his scent, and the touch of his hand is gentle and warm, its familiar. It's all him.

Cameron resists the urge to lean back into him, after all she has no idea what he's doing here. Instead she closes her eyes and simply sighs.

"You're here." She's the first to break the silence.

"I'm here."

The water starts to boil and she puts the tea bag in letting it rest for a while.

Finally she turns around to face him, they hold each other's gaze and Cameron tries to read his face for some clue as to why he's here. After what seems like an eternity but it's actually just a few seconds, she passes him and heads to the living room. House sighs and looks down, he then follows her and sees her with her hands resting on the back of the couch in a tense posture.

"Talked to Cuddy the other night. You were right, she left Lucas so she could be with me."

Cameron didn't expect to face him so soon let alone that he would seek her out to tell her about Cuddy, she remains silent to see where he's going with this conversation.

"I went to her place willing to try a relationship with her… so I kissed her, I –"

"Stop." She can't believe this is happening, she tells him she loves him for the very first time and he's here telling her how he's in love with another woman!

"Cameron…"

"Stop it House! I don't want to know, I don't wanna have this conversation with you. If this is some stupid attempt to give me some sort of explanation then you don't have to. I let you go, you owe me no explanation, you owe me nothing." Her grip on the back of the couch tightens, she's angry and sad at the same time.

"Will you let me finish? I said I kissed her, and yes I was there to be with her but when I kissed her it didn't feel like I thought it would, so I just kissed her again. And still something was wrong." He snaps at her. He's not good with this type of things but damn it he's trying!

He puts his cane down by the couch and limps towards her until they're facing each other, eyes locked together.

"I could be with her right now…, instead I'm here in your home." He waits a moment for the words to sink in. He could tell her the three little words he knows she really wants to hear, but honestly he's not ready, though he knows for sure there will be a day when he is.

"You're here." She whispers trying to make sure she understands the meaning of his words.

"I'm here." House says again. He slowly leans down and brushes his lips against Cameron's. She's hesitant at first but responds to him. Even though it's only been a few days it feels like she hasn't kissed him in years, maybe because she thought she would never had the chance to do it again. House is the first to break the kiss and Cameron rest her forehead on his chest while he wraps his arms around her, silent tears fall down her face.

"For so long I thought I was in love with her, and then you give me the chance to be with her and I think this is finally it, my moment to be happy. When I kissed her she knew something was wrong, she asked me if I loved her." House feels Cameron tense in his arms but he needs to get this out, he needs to be completely honest with her.

"I was so caught up in being miserable that I didn't even realize that I wasn't anymore… you changed that." Cameron feels tears well up in her eyes, she lifts her head to look into his deep blue eyes.

"What do we do now?" She has to ask.

"I don't want to go back to where we were, I want us to have a real relationship, not that what we had was fake…" He's not good with words and she finds this strangely amusing.

"You want us to be girlfriend and boyfriend?" She knows how he dislikes labels but she can't help to tease him.

"When you put it like that… God this feels so high school."

She gets on her tip toes and kisses him more strongly this time, because now she knows this is real and he loves her even though he didn't actually say the words.  
They stay in a tight embrace enjoying the feel of the others' bodies pressed together once again.

"You're here." _I love you._

"I'm here." _I love you too._

This is their second chance and they're not wasting it.

**The End**

**Not the end I had planned but it's what came out.**

**Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did!**

**Thank you ****to everyone who took the time to comment, I truly appreciate it!**


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